A Forge Project

My buddy Tylor comes over sometimes to do some forge work.  Today he brought a friend of his, Johnathan.  And a "special" project.

But first, a safety reminder:

Here's Johnathan, swinging a hammer for his first forged blade, though he's made knives before.

Tylor taking his turn at the anvil:

Here's a look into the forge.  I'm heating up some steel for guards.  Part of the fun of this project is that we are sort of making up the process as we go along.

A hot-punched hole is the least wasteful way to make a hole.  That little tiny round thing to the left of the rough-shaped guard is the only metal removed from the hole.

Tylor's project involved the use of some spent .50 caliber shells he'd picked up recently.  The marker in the first picture is for size comparison.

This is my knife.

Johnathan's:

Tylor's:

His shaping is really good on this blade.  For as few knives as he's made, he has really learned how to get the shape he wants out of the steel.

This isn't really the most practical handle material, but it is a very unusual and extremely fun way to put a handle on a knife.

I'm recovering from a really draining cold and it is the end of the semester, so this project really wiped me out.  Still, it was a great way to get a break from the studying for finals that I really should be doing instead of having fun.

More to come as I get a chance to make more things.